March 29, 2009

This next layout took me forever. I wish sometimes I would take into consideration the amount of time a certain technique takes before I actually start it. I had started piercing holes yesterday before I thought about how long it would actually take to do the stitching. Well, I paid for not thinking. I have a couple holes in my finger...... I really wish I had a sewing machine. One of these days.....

So here is my very labor intensive layout.Oh, and a special thanks to Trisha (TX PaperDoll) for the wonderful stamped journaling spot.

Unique*** "Unique" was cut from the Graphically Speaking Cricut Cartridge_____________________________

March 24, 2009

Every child has that one thing that he/she can't be without. For some it's a blankie (and we have our share,) for others it's a pillow, and for some it's a stuffed animal. Until recently the only thing that C.J. has really been attached to is a blanket. His "tag." My child has an OBSESSION with tags. You will often find him with is hand down the back of his pants......uh-huh, playing with the tag on the inside of his jeans. Anyway, he loves the tags on blankets as well. It soothes him. But it was not to the point where we had to bring it everywhere we went.

And then came the trip to the ER. A week ago last Saturday, C.J. wakes up at midnight. He is running a fever of 105.4. Off to the ER we go. Now most children would have been cranky being up at this hour. Not my kid. He was excited. He loves the doctor. Weird I know. So we get there, wait, and wait, and wait some more. Finally we get taken back to a room. The doc comes on looks him over and says they will run some tests. The nurses come in to take his blood. I'm thinking, ok this is where my night goes from bad to worse. Nope. I had the 2 best nurses. They sat and explained everything like my 3 yr old was an adult. The needle went in, he said "ow," and that was it. The nurses, and myself were so stinkin proud of that kid. Not one tear. Not ONE. So off they go. And a few minutes later, one of them come back with this little green stuffed frog. A reward for his bravery.

Now this frog goes everywhere with us. To daycare. In the car. To the bathroom. At the dinner table. And of course to bed.

I found out just how important having that frog with him is. Yesterday he left it at daycare. BIG UH-OH. He wanted me to drive back to get it. I told him he would have to wait til morning. He was sad. But it sure gave him the motivation to get dressed and go this morning. His Froggie was waiting for him.

I have to admit, he is kinda cute......I can't wait to scrap this pic!_____________________________

March 23, 2009

I would like to make an update in regards to the post I made about Custom Crops the other day.

I received an email from Katie at Custom Crops, offering me a $10.00 discount code towards my next purchase. Sometimes when poor customer service rears it's ugly head, you have to do something to improve it. I feel a little better, and will take advantage of this to give the company another shot. I will let you know how it goes.

March 22, 2009

I always knew that you could reflect the mood of a photo by using color. But I never realized that my mood could be reflected in a layout. I have noticed in the things that I have been creating in last few weeks my colors are brighter. This totally reflects how I have been feeling lately! In the last couple months my spirits have been up and my outlook on life is a little brighter.

Here is another layout that reflects my brighter outlook!

She's All That*** "She's All That" and white background were cut from Graphically Speaking Cricut Cart_____________________________

For most of us these are the main points when choosing an online retailer for our scrapbook purchases. There are plenty of online stores to buy our goodies, so we expect the above if we are to give a certain retailer our business.

Today I would like to talk about a company that failed in a few of these areas. Custom Crops First off they do have GREAT prices. They do offer QUALITY products. The areas that that failed miserably in are Customer Service, and Fast Shipping. Here is my story:

I ordered a Cricut Cartridge (Quality Product) for just $44.99 (Great Price.) This was a Valentine's Day gift from my hubby so I ordered on Friday February 13th. This was a Friday before a Monday holiday.

From the Custom Crops Website:

Packages are typically shipped in 2 to 4 business days after receipt of payment. Shipping is typically via the United States Postal Service or UPS. Insurance and delivery confirmation is included on all orders at no extra cost.

So I expected to receive confirmation that my product had shipped by Friday, February 20th. A week later. Nothing. Everything still says processing when I go to my order on their website. I decided to use their online form to send an inquiry. In most businesses it is better to send a letter instead of make a phone call so there is a paper trail.I did not receive a response. I went back to my order confirmation on the 25th and it was still processing. 2 days later it finally appeared that my order had shipped.

Order History

02/13/2009

Order Received

02/25/2009

Processing

02/27/2009

Shipped

I received my product the following week on March 2nd. C'mon 3 and a half weeks? For a product that is in stock??? I sent another letter via their online form:

My letter:

I just wanted to let you know that I amvery disappointed in the lack ofcustomer service with your company. Myhusband ordered me a Cricut Cartridgeon the 13th of February. When it had notarrived by the 25th of the month, Iused this form to ask about the order.Today, is now the 4th of March, and Ifinally received my order on the 2nd ofMarch.My first complaint is that you state thatyou will reply to questions posted herewithin 24 hrs. It has been a week, and mypost was ignored.My second is the delay inshipping my product. Your shipping termssay that you will ship within 2-4 businessdays. I ordered on a Friday, and the followingMonday was a holiday. Ok, with that isshould have shipped at the latest, on Friday,February 20th. I asked if the item was backordered....again no response.And before you ask, yes I looked at yourFAQ section, and yes, I checked mySPAM folder. I think even after the orderwas processed that someone from your companyshould have had the decency to reply to me.If this is how you do business, I amsorry to say that I will not return,nor will I refer any of my scrapbookingcommunity to this site. Pleaserespond.

This time I did receive a response:

I do understand your frustration withour shipping times. We have beenextremely behind these past few weeks. However, I did want you to know thatI researched our emails and thisIs the first one we have received fromthis email. We take our emails veryseriously and do not ignore any emails. Sorry, your email did not reach us !!Thank you for your thoughts and I hopeyou enjoy your products !!

Hope that helps!We strive to be a 5-star retailer everyday!Feel free to call us toll-free at877.563.1233 if you have any questions oryou can always e-mail us.

They did receive my first email, to which the above letter states that it not receive:

We have received your message at Custom Crops!‏

From:

Custom Crops Customer Service Team (info@CustomCrops.com)

Sent:

Thu 2/26/09 12:14 AM

To:

Katt

Thank you for your inquiry! We have received your message andwill respond to it as soon aspossible. In the meantime,feel free to check out our frequently asked questions on our website. We try to keep this list updatedeach day with the latest information.

So I sent another email, directly from the response above, and another using the contact form. I have not had a reply to either. So where do I go from here? Well, no matter how great the prices are, poor customer service wins out here. I will not be buying another product from Custom Crops. Unless of course someone responds to me and maybe offers free shipping or $10 off my next order ;)

Please leave a comment if you have had a good or bad experience with this company!_____________________________

March 21, 2009

I got to thinking while I was rearranging my scrap area, that I have WAY TO MANY SCRAPS! I try to use them on layouts, but I often am looking for something new, or my scraps don't go.

My mission: To deplete my scrap box to at least half, before I purchase any more paper! (gulp)How I plan to accomplish: By making cards!

Cards are perfect for the left overs. They are quick and easy. And it will be nice to have some cards stashed and on hand for any occasion that should come up.

Here are a few I made last night:*** "smile" was cut from the Mini Monograms Cricut Cartridge*** tag on "hugs to you" card was cut from the Graphically Speaking Cricut Cartridge_____________________________

March 17, 2009

So me and Chase decided to rearrange our spare bedroom/office. I needed more wall space, and really needed to get away from the glare of the window. I love the natural light but the glare was giving me headaches. So here is the old space:And here is my new and improved space!

First is my Crop in Style (thanks Lynn!) And my set of drawers (these house my paper scraps, stamping and embossing stuff, and misc things in the bottom) More paper on top and binders for my dollar stamps, and alpha stickers:Next is my wire wall racks. These used to be parts from those cubes you could make (KWIM?) Anyway I put them on the wall with some "S" hooks to hang some stickers, rub-ons, and my Cricut mats:Then I have my workspace. I am so happy with my work area now. I feel like everything has a home:This is what I purchased at IKEA on Saturday. The rack with the 4 plastic hanging cups (pens, pencils, cutting tools, and punches,) and the wire rack with the jars, and the magentic strip underneath. I got all that for $14.00, add the pink lamp for another $4.00. I spent $18.00, and I love it!

Hi, just a quick note to ask anyone that is reading to say a quick prayer for my little guy, CJ. He has been sick for the last 3 days and no signs of this ending. We spent 4 hours at the ER on Saturday night with a high fever of 105.4. No answers after a blood test, urine test, and chest X-ray. He has continued to run fever in the evenings and has no symptoms in the morning. We back to the doc this morning, and still no answers. She *thinks* it could be Roseola, but there is no way to know until a rash breaks out. I am hoping and praying that this all just goes away, so my little boy feels better, and we can get on with life again.

March 14, 2009

One of this month's challenges over at Have Your Way With Paper, was a Mystery Item challenge. Well, I was certainly surprised when the mystery item showed up in my mailbox. What was it?? Feather? I was certainly stumped......for all of 5 seconds! That's when it dawned on me that I had the perfect pics to go with these special embellishments. Our pics from out visit to the Bonneville Dam. CJ spent the afternoon feeding the "quack quacks," his word for ducks.

Now was the challenge of actually designing a layout based on this. I had a little difficulty at first, but then everything came together.

quack quacks:***"quack quacks" was cut from the Cuttin Up Cricut Cartridge

March 11, 2009

Remember the train that I pieced not so long ago using my cricut? Well now I have downloaded the trial version of Design Studio, and turned that paper piecing into a cut file! So here it is for all you Cricut users. This was designed with George and basic shapes!

March 8, 2009

So my little sister, and fellow scrapper, Kelly has been yelling at me that I don't scrap enough of her kids. I admit I have been scrapping quite a bit of my older sister's kids, but she doesn't scrap, so that's my excuse.

Well, today I sat down and got to business. I had so much fun today. I got to play with my Cricut, some glitter, and I made my own page pebbles! I learned how at The Frugal Crafter's Weblog, another blog I visit.

alexis & anna

***Flourishes cut with Home Accents Cricut Cartridge***Flowers and '&' were cut with Graphically Speaking Cricut Cartridge_____________________________

March 5, 2009

So I got my new Cricut Cart on Tuesday! Yipee! I got the Graphically Speaking Cartridge. If you have not see this cartridge, I think it is a must have. You can find a link to all the Cricut Cartridge Manuals here. There is so much more than just phrases, there are shapes and graphics as well! Ckeck it out! I am so glad I did.

And so I decided to play with it last night. I knew exactly which cut I wanted to use before the cartridge even arrived on my doorstep. There is this really cool cut out that you will see on the left side of my layout. It is a block of threes that are all connected together. This was a little bit if a challenge to work with once it was cut out, but I think I handled it well. The cut is very fragile. I used my large Xyron for adhesive. Getting it off the sticky paper was a challenge. I will have to find another method to stick these down the next time.

So anyway no more waiting, here is my completed layout.

-3-CJ's 3rd Birthday*** 3's and the center white and navy circles were cut with the Cricut Graphically Speaking Cartridge._____________________________

March 3, 2009

I am so excited about this layout! It has been awhile since I have felt this good about something I have created. My older sister posted these pics to another forum, and I saved them to my computer, had them printed, and went right to work!

I never got any pics of CJ making a snow angel this year, so here was my chance to scrap the scene! And I got to use pink! Haha!

I had fun just playing with this. I bought new alpha stamps that I was eager to try out, so I used those. I love the snowflakes from the Home Accents Cricut Cartridge, so I used those. I love hand stitching, so I added a bit of that. Add some bling with crystals and stickles, a few brads and some buttons and voila, one of my personal favorites ever!

gracie's angel***Snowflakes cut from the Home Accents Cricut Cartridge.

Please note that Design Studio Cut Files, .cut, are my creations and are for personal use only. I would appreciate any work posted on a blog, personal website, gallery or other forum that uses one of my files please include a link back to my blog, www.scrapnkitty.blogspot.com.

Please do not hand out my files. If someone would like one of the files I have available, please direct them here. DO NOT GIVE OUT THE LINK